According to the Smithsonian, the smiley face as we know it was created by Harvey Ross Ball in 1963 for State Mutual Life Assurance Company for $45 (which then was equivalent to around $333 these days). He made the design in about ten minutes and more than fifty million buttons of the design were made. The design is similar to ones made before it (Nicolas Loufrani of the Smiley Company, and their subsidiary SmileyWorld Ltd, in London, points to cave paintings made in 2500 BC that are the first depictions of the smiley face) but this is thought by many to be the iconic version.
The smiley face has also been associated with aspects of psychedelic culture, including the Diggers, a radical community activist group based in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco (of which Peter Coyote was a founding member? Interesting), electronic dance music culture, including if not especially Acid House, and later appearing as an iconic element in Dave Gibbons & Alan Moore’s ‘Watchmen.’
The less said about Wal-Mart the better, though it may be of interest that they had dealings with the smiley face, and have settled with Smiley Company in front of the Chicago federal court in 2010. Terms of that settlement remaining confidential.
Beware the smiley face.

]]>https://markbilokur.com/2016/08/28/smiley-smile/feed/0Bud Collins Smiley Face PostcardmbilokurWhat the hell were we thinking?https://markbilokur.com/2016/08/28/what-the-hell-were-we-thinking/
https://markbilokur.com/2016/08/28/what-the-hell-were-we-thinking/#respondSun, 28 Aug 2016 18:10:23 +0000http://markbilokur.com/?p=85Some of the flyers weren’t advertising specific shows, some were just to get the name of the band out there or to… well, what were we thinking, anyway?
I don’t remember who’s idea this particular one was.
I love how the white out is visible – There was a debate as to how ‘circumcised’ is spelled. Then we found a dictionary.
]]>https://markbilokur.com/2016/08/28/what-the-hell-were-we-thinking/feed/0Bud Collins BartmbilokurCollins, Bud to Flowerhttps://markbilokur.com/2016/08/28/collins-bud-to-flower/
https://markbilokur.com/2016/08/28/collins-bud-to-flower/#respondSun, 28 Aug 2016 18:02:15 +0000http://markbilokur.com/?p=82https://markbilokur.com/2016/08/28/collins-bud-to-flower/feed/0Bud Collins Trio Oscar's Jan 12mbilokurBud Collins poster bombinghttps://markbilokur.com/2016/08/28/bud-collins-poster-bombing/
https://markbilokur.com/2016/08/28/bud-collins-poster-bombing/#respondSun, 28 Aug 2016 17:57:46 +0000http://markbilokur.com/?p=68Printed on a copier at 8 1/2″ x 11″ and cut in half.
They stood out from other poster, flyers and advertisements in size and appearance, and were more (heh) bang for the buck.
]]>https://markbilokur.com/2016/08/28/bud-collins-poster-bombing/feed/0BC3@RiotmbilokurBud Collins Trio posterhttps://markbilokur.com/2016/08/28/bud-collins-trio-poster/
https://markbilokur.com/2016/08/28/bud-collins-trio-poster/#respondSun, 28 Aug 2016 17:48:36 +0000http://markbilokur.com/?p=59Smiley faces in the smoke…
]]>https://markbilokur.com/2016/08/28/bud-collins-trio-poster/feed/0Bud Collins Trio Oscar's Oct 6mbilokurBud Collins proto-postershttps://markbilokur.com/2016/08/28/bud-collins-proto-posters/
https://markbilokur.com/2016/08/28/bud-collins-proto-posters/#respondSun, 28 Aug 2016 04:58:29 +0000http://markbilokur.com/?p=32I think these are the very first flyers I ever did for the Bud Collins Trio, so many years ago. I think Pat Guiney talked me in to doing them, and I kept going from there. It looks like I was still learning to draw. (Heck, I’m still learning to draw.) Some of the themes for later posters are already present, the suit is there from the beginning, as well as the smiley face. The face on the t.v. screen is from the original ‘Bud Collins’ drawing done by Chris Duers. I forget what flavor the ice cream was.

‘Surfing with the Kabbalah’ is an introduction to a form of mystical theory and practice (the Kabbalah) using surfing as the main metaphor. This is an early draft, presented in the rough, with warts, leaky holes, frayed threads and all.